At the Google Wallet press event this morning, the company let it slip during the Q/A session that it plans to release a special sticker that’ll allow phones without NFC to talk with the Google Wallet app.

Right now, the only phone that’ll be able to use Google Wallet is the Nexus S 4G. While the company said at the event that most Android phones will support NFC in the future, that’s at least a year away. Meanwhile, most Android users won’t be able to take advantage of this service. Google, of course, has a problem with that. Therefore, it makes sense that the company wants to create a solution for those of us without an NFC-capable device.

Here’s how it’d work: You’d get this special sticker from Google that has a single credit card’s info associated with it. You’d then put it on the back of your phone and the sticker would communicate with the Google Wallet app just like if your phone had an NFC chip. Pretty nifty, huh? While the sticker won’t allow you to take full advantage of Google Wallet — as you’d be limited to just using one credit card — it’ll still allow you to pay with your phone.

This sticker would very useful coupled with another product that Google announced today. Hidden among all the Google Wallet craziness, the company announced the Google Prepaid Card. The card is not an actual card that you’d have in your wallet, but it’s instead a “virtual card”. You can fund the Google Prepaid Card from any other credit card or bank account that you currently have. Like icing on the cake, you’ll get $10 deposited in your Google Prepaid Card when you first open an account.

Technically, you could get a Google Prepaid Card and then have a sticker tied to that Google Prepaid Card. This way, your “special sticker” is not tied to just one bank or one credit card.

Will you guys be getting one of these stickers when they come out? I know I will.

Alberto is a college student living somewhere between Miami, Sarasota and the World Wide Web. Although a former iPhone owner, Alberto is now a proud Android enthusiast. You can follow Alberto on Twitter and Google+ for his thoughts unworthy of an article.

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So the non 4G version of the Nexus will not be supported? That doesn’t make sense, it has an NFC chip.

Alberto Vildosola

T-Mobile needs to approve whether the Nexus S will get Google Wallet or not.

Why the carrier hasn’t approved it yet? I don’t know but I’m guessing it has something to do with that other carrier that starts with an A.

Forget about T-Mobile, Sprint is the new Google carrier

http://anasqtiesh.com Anas

It’s because it’s in partnership with Sprint. T-Mobile and the other 2 largest US carriers have allied with a different company for their mobile payment solutions.

Basically the way it’s shaping up, Google is preparing for the worst (AT&T acquiring T-Mobile) and becoming BFFs with Sprint. This is the second Sprint specific Android service from Google after the Google Voice integration.

I think that the next Nexus phone might be launched on Sprint instead of T-Mobile.

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If you have a T-Mobile Nexus S, wait for them to announce their own NFC payment solution that’s independent from Google Wallet.

http://Website Jim

Yeah, what’s with Nexus S customers getting dissed? Haha.. actually, I can’t find any information either way on whether the Nexus S will be allowed or not.. but signs are sad since it only mentions the Sprint based Nexus S 4g. :(

http://Website Alfleagle

I’m pretty much a Google fanboy. Yes.

http://Website mkos

What if the sticker falls off?

Alberto Vildosola

If they’re distributed by Google, I bet they’ll be dirt cheap or even free. So, you’d just get another one.

http://Twitter.com/nortisan Christopher Cook

Also, I would be willing to bet you could stick it on the inside of your battery cover rather than stick on the outside of the phone.

http://organizedfellow.com OrganizedFellow

I’m sure there’s some paired security involved.
Perhaps the sticker is somehow matched with the phone number, or even better, the IMEI number.

I’m sure most users have a case or skin for their Androidâ„¢ device. I’ll bet the NFC sticker can still transmit through that.

http://Website Levi

I would like to know how does the phone actually work with the sticker? yes they both have radio communication, but the whole reason for the need of the sticker is because the phone doesn’t communicate on the same frequency. So will the sticker actually plug into the usb port? or will it be the same if you attached it to your shoe as it would be attached to your phone.

Granted I would not want to try and put my foot on the counter to pay for something but just using it as an example.

The thing that detracts me from NFC is anyone walking by with the right equipment can read it. What I hope happens with the phones with NFC Native is so that you can turn it on / off. Turn it on for a few moments to pay and then it auto turns off.

http://Website Joshua

What worries me about NFC is… well nothing because I trust they will have all this stuff figured out so you and every other paranoid alien conspiracy theorists will be at ease. Wait, that will never happen. There will always be something to be paranoid about. Btw, stop picking your nose and clean up your room… i’m watching you!

http://www.jdotreach.com Joshua R.

Totally getting one! :) Love that they work towards making this available for everyone! :)

http://www.techendeavour.com/ Rahul Aggarwal

The Google’s step towards a open commerce ecosystem is going to draw a lot of attentions from the retailers as they get a new way to target their potential customers and also increase the buyer population. However, the geotargeting option might be a safeguard measure to save the public from privacy intrusion.

http://Website buerger

would the sticker be useful also for all other nfc applications? Smartposters, ticketing etc?

http://Website 3lmo

Why not use nfc sd cards?

http://Website Ingo

Google should buy Tyfone.

Sparhawk2k

I’d try it out with the sticker and their pre-paid card. But that’s all I could do with the Bionic and no supported cards…

http://nfcwallet.com Near Field Communication Wallet

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